The Heart of Arizona Route is a spectacular 3-day drive through some of the state's most remarkable landscapes. We're mapping out the perfect road trip route through Prescott, Coconino, Kaibab, and Tonto national forests, which together make up the Heart of Arizona.

The route will be a mix of highways and off-road routes, letting you take a voyage through areas that many people have never experienced—and that you might not even have known existed!

We'd originally planned to do the route in March, but we've postponed due to the likelihood of road closures due to snow on the northern part of the route. So, we're aiming for Memorial Day weekend, May 26 to 28, 2018 for a full run of the Heart of Arizona route.

(For logistical reasons, this will most likely be a self-paced trip for anyone who wants to join, rather than caravan style. We'll provide more details as the time gets nearer.)

You might notice this is the weekend after Overland Expo West. We thought about combining the events, but it would involve more time off work for everyone participating, so we decided to keep them separate.

Are you an overlander at heart?

James from Journey West

James is no stranger to road trips, having grown up in a family prone to making epic cross-country voyages. Despite having lived in Arizona for almost three decades, though, he feels like he's barely seen it. With his interest in overlanding rekindled by the purchase of an 2008 4Runner, he's now setting out to really explore the American West. You can reach him at journeywestco@gmail.com